Materials used in the decontamination of surfaces contaminated with chemical and biological warfare agents (CWA and BWA respectively), TICS, and TIMS are predominately liquid compositions, such as Decon Green™ developed by Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and Easy Decon™ developed by Sandia National Laboratories, the major active component of which is liquid hydrogen peroxide. The liquid, multi-component products have many inherent problems associated with them. The use, storage and transportation of high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide present many hazards and logistical challenges. High concentrations of hydrogen peroxide are highly corrosive, require special packaging, are limited in transportation modalities and are unstable without controlled storage and transportation systems.
The storage of large amounts of highly corrosive and heat sensitive liquids is a safety issue. Hydrogen peroxide spontaneously and irreversibly decomposes at elevated temperatures.
The use of multiple components requires accurately combining all components in the proper ratios each time the product is used. Short pot lives require complicated measuring every time the product is used or specially designed equipment to blend the product as it is being dispensed.
Many of these product types are incompatible with a number of substrates such as paints, soft metals, rubbers and plastics.
Many of these products contain a concentration of hydrogen peroxide subject to air shipment restrictions. In most cases, the products need to be shipped either by ground or sea causing delays in their arrival at required locations.
The thermodynamics of the combined components of many of these product types can cause “run-away” reactions to occur in certain circumstances and may require new dispensing equipment. Also, as the hydrogen peroxide degrades, foam can be produced which can spill from containers causing safety and chemical hazards.